Why Good People Do Bad Environmental Things

by Elizabeth R. DeSombre

No one sets out to intentionally cause environmental problems. All things being equal, we are happy to protect environmental resources; in fact, we tend to prefer our air cleaner and our species protected. But despite not wanting to create environmental problems, we all do so regularly in the course of living our everyday lives. Why do we behave in ways that cause environmental harm?

It is often easy and inexpensive to behave in ways with bad environmental consequences, but more difficult and costly to take environmentally friendly actions. The incentives we face, some created by the nature of environmental resources, some by social and political structures, often do not make environmentally beneficial behavior the most likely choice. Furthermore, our behavior is conditioned by habits and social norms that fail to take environmental protection into consideration.

In this book, Elizabeth R. DeSombre integrates research from political science, sociology, psychology, and economics to understand why bad environmental behavior makes perfect sense. As she notes, there is little evidence that having more information about environmental problems or the way an individual's actions contribute to them changes behavior in meaningful ways, and lack of information is rarely the underlying cause that connects behavior to harm. In some cases such knowledge may even backfire, as people come to see themselves as powerless to address huge global problems and respond by pushing these issues out of their minds. The fact that causing environmental problems is never anyone's primary goal means that people are happy to stop causing them if the alternative behavior still accomplishes their underlying goals. If we can figure out why those problems are caused, when no one intends to cause them, we can develop strategies that work to shift behavior in a positive
direction. Over the course of this book, DeSombre considers the role of structure, incentives, information, habit, and norms on behavior in order to formulate lessons about how these factors lead to environmentally problematic behavior, and what understanding their effects can tell us about ways to change behavior. To prevent or address environmental problems, we have to understand why even good people do bad environmental things.

Genres: Nonfiction, Environment, Nature

264 pages, Hardcover

Published April 2, 2018

About the author

Elizabeth R. DeSombre is Camilla Chandler Frost Professor of Environmental Studies and Director of the Environmental Studies Program at Wellesley College. She is the author of Flagging Standards: Globalization and Environmental, Safety, and Labor Regulations at Sea (MIT Press, 2006) and other books.

Reviews

[Shalom · Rating 5 out of 5]

An indispensible book for anyone who wants to solve the climate crisis. No original research, but a virtuosic compilation of the best thinking from every relevant field, focused on a simple question -- if we want people to make the "right" choices for the environment, what works and what doesn't? Overturns a lot of conventional wisdom that deserves to be overturned, showing why haranguing people hurts, economic incentives often don't help, and education mostly matters for the young. Yet lights the way for other solutions that might actually matter, including my favorite -- dense, walkable neighborhoods where the normal, obvious habits that you don't even think about, are the ones that are best for the environment.

[The Inquisitive Biologist · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-structured book with a pragmatic conclusion, Why Good People Do Bad Environmental Things explores how we can go about influencing individual behaviour to limit our environmental impact. See my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2019...

[Anaum Virani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good SIMPLE DIGESTIBLE intro to environmental ethics that bridges the gap of understanding for the average good Samaritan. However, I felt like the reading was very redundant so it was hard to stay engaged.

[Katie Nissen · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who studies environment politics and climate change, this will be my bible for anytime I need help outlining what makes climate change so challenging to address.

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a good read, but a lot of it is repetitive and redundant and oh so boring if you aren’t particularly interested in economic or psychological terminology

[Ginna · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting, read for environmental politics and policy, while it pointed out good issues i felt it lacked solutions or steps forward which is always a little disappointing